Thursday, March 22, 2012

First Race of 2012... Gettn my feet wet

I found myself in Austin, TX and luckily Dave Wenger told me about a nice Thursday night race they have down there. I figured it was a training crit but when I showed up I saw a big blown up finish line and the music was pumpin! This was no small race.

The Driveway Series is totally badass. Better than some weekend races I attend. Great field, great course, venders set up and FREE beer... Yes I said free!

John Grant was also in town for some reason so atleast I knew a couple guys there. I was fresh off the plane with heavy legs and with being able to count the times I've ridden outside on all my fingers, I was just looking to get my feet wet.

Guys have been riding and racing a lot down there so I was looking for a good workout and to hopefully not embarrass myself.

The race started out quick and I was just trying to remember how to turn my bike at high speeds. Wenger got in a pretty dangerous 3 man move and I thought I shouldn't let that go. I followed a move with John Grant and 3 of us rolled away. We worked well together and caught the break in about a half a lap. We were 6 strong now... Well really 5. I was way in over my head but my mind is a lot stronger than my legs right now. We rolled along pretty good. They were killin me and it started showing with about 6 laps to go and one of the guys attacked hard on the hill and I was cashed. It split the move in half and I just went back to the field half cracked. I surfed a lil and still was 4th in the field sprint. I was pretty happy with my ride knowing my fitness is behind but glad I read the race right and got my feet wet. I definetly felt out of shape and like I traveled all day on a plane but it's good to see where I am. Dave ended up winning which was nice.

Austin is a blast and I met and hung out with some great people. Not to mention I got to attend SXSW finally and got to see one of my fav old school bands Candlebox.